Mount Juliet Golf Notes

After a lull in competitive golf the season re-opened again last week with the “drive in” of the Captains for 2012.  Alan Hoyne and Ruth Mulholland took over the mantle of Captain and Lady Captain from the 2011 pairing of James J. Brett and Margaret Twomey.  The day opened with a 2 person scramble over 9 holes with both nines being used for the occasion.  In Spring-like weather, which was a vast change from the awful weather endured in January last year, there was a very good turnout for the golf competition and the “drive-in” which followed in the afternoon.

This is also the first year that Mount Juliet has a Junior Captain and Luke Donnelly has the honour of filling this role for 2012.  Luke, who plays off an impressive handicap of 6 for his tender age of 14 years, also joined both Captains for his “drive-in” as well and drove his tee shot long and straight.

The presentation of prizes and formal induction of all three Captains took place in The Loft of the Hunters Yard after the “drive-in” and this was followed by a very enjoyable dinner in Kendals Restaurant which ran late into the night.  The new Captain, Alan Hoyne, alluded to the many moments of enjoyment he had as a young boy growing up near Mount Juliet and he felt very proud to be the first native of Thomastown to be elected as Captain of the famous course.

The competition, which was a stroke play event, produced some excellent scoring, especially on the back nine holes.  The par of 36 for each nine being equalled or bettered by a number of partnerships.  Bill Connolly had the distinction of scoring a Hole in One on the 14^th where he used a seven iron to obtain this unique achievement.

Results 2 Person Scramble

1^st Nine:

Winners         Sean O’Neill (15) & Bryan Phelan (15)                             29

Second          Catherine O’Halloran (29) & Richard O’Halloran (20)           29.2

Third              Tommy Duggan (8) & Jo Duggan (20)                            30.4

2^nd Nine: 

Winners         Paul Carty (20) & Anthony Gore-Grimes (23)                    27.4

Second          Frank Kelly (24) & Bryan Higgins (24)                             28.4

Third              Barry Hoyne (12) & Chris Clancy (13)                            29

Hole in One    Bill Connolly @ 14th

The final lap of the “Lexus Race to Mount Juliet” was decided last Sunday when Barrie Trainor clinched the title over 36 holes in Mount Juliet. Barrie, who was a former Senior Cup player with his home club, Warrenpoint, had rounds of 68 and 70 for a total of 6 under par to win by four strokes from his playing partner on Sunday, Brendan McGovern and by winning the final he just pipped last year’s winner, David Higgins, for the Order of Merit title as well. Barrie collected €4,000 for winning in Mount Juliet and he collected a further €10,000 for the Order of Merit title.

He beat a select field of his professional compatriots to end his year on top of the pile. This is his sixth year as a professional, having won the Irish Amateur Championship and the PGA Ulster Championship, on the way to the biggest win of his career so far. Both Trainor and McGovern led the field on Saturday after they both had recorded rounds of four under par, 68’s, over the blue championship course. Trainor started his round with eight straight pars on Sunday before he birdied the par four 9th. He dropped two shots on the 11th and 12th before he finished his round with three further birdies on the 13th, 14th and 17th holes for a two under round of 70 shots. In the meantime, McGovern, who lost a ball on the 4th and try as he might could not catch Trainor to finish his round with a 74 which was two over par and this was enough to earn him second place on Sunday. Jimmy Bolger, Kilkenny, finished joint third with David Higgins on Sunday for a good week-end.

The Pro-Am on Friday was contested by 33 teams of four comprising of a professional and three amateur golfers. This event was won by a team led by Old Conna professional, Donal Gleeson, who beat the Jimmy Bolger led team on a countback. Both teams having scored 95 points and were 3 shots clear of the team led by Greenore professional, Robert Giles. The evening concluded with a dinner and presentation of prizes in Kendals Restaurant with some lively and funny entertainment from Barry Murphy of Apres Match fame.

On the amateur scene last week there were two competitions played and the first one was the opening round of the popular Winter Series. This proved to be benefit for some members of Thurles Golf Club as they won the first two prizes. The winners had a great score of 99 points and they had 5 shots to spare from their fellow club members.

The last of the Ladies Invitation Days was held on Wednesday and the format was a Three Person Rumble. This proved to be a successful outing for the team led by Brona Reidy who had a convincing win with 71 points. Brona’s partners were Edel Banim (11) from Woodbrook G.C. and Maeve O’Reilly (12) from Powerscourt G.C.

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Results Winter Series 4 Person Team Event

Winners

Pat Stakelum (18) Thurles G.C.

Pat McEvoy (13)

John Nevin (15)

John McGrath (15) 99points

Second

Jack O’Keeffe (15) Thurles G.C.

V. O’Keeffe (17)

Eamon O’Kennedy (12)

David O’Kennedy (13) 94 points

Results Pro-Am Friday 14th October

Winners

Donal Gleeson, Old Conna

Hugh O’Connor (6)

Helen Hedigan (20)

Geraldine Forde (32) 95 points

Second

Jimmy Bolger, Kilkenny

Bill Connolly (16)

P.J. Butler (15)

Billy Fanning (14) 95 points

Third

Robert Giles, Greenore

Alan Hoyne (7)

Mark Adamson (10)

Gary Stewart (6) 92 points

The Lady President’s (Mrs. Mary Jones) Prize was played on Thursday last in very testing conditions with a very strong South Westerly wind blowing which made scoring very difficult. The very convincing winner was Sandra Carr who returned 32 points to win by four shots from her nearest opponent. It was a case of keeping the ball in play in the conditions and Sandra executed this to her advantage over the eighteen holes. In second place came the Lady Captain (Margaret Twomey) with 28 points. No player broke the C.S.S. for the day so the competition became a non-counting one as it was deemed to be for reduction only for handicap purposes. Mrs. Jones made the long trip over from the South of England for the occasion. The evening ended with a dinner and presentation of prizes in Mount Juliet House.

This week-end sees the final of the Lexus Race to Mount Juliet with the top Irish Professional Golfers playing for the Order of Merit title which will be defended by the 2010 winner, David Higgins, and will include Kilkenny Professional, Jimmy Bolger, in the line-up. The Pro-Am takes place this Friday with the professionals taking pride of place on Saturday and Sunday.

Results of Lady President’s (Mrs. Mary Jones) Prize

Winner Sandra Carr (18) 32 points

Second Margaret Twomey (36) 28 points

Third Laura Mahony (17) 27 points

Fourth Myra Phelan (22) 27 points

1st Nine Mary Divilly (25) 14 points

2nd Nine Brenda Fitzgerald (21) 14 points

Par 3’s Hilary Hegarty 8 points

Par 5‘s Ursula Mason 9 points

Longest Drive Ruth Mulholland